MEs and CSIs
by bubble-rouge08
Summary: [SMACked] And Flack said... Birds of the same feather flock together. This is a New Year oneshot. Please R&R. Thank you!


**_A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Sorry, my gift came waaaay late. But I hope you like it.

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**MEs and CSIs**

**©CATE**

They say that the person you kiss on the stroke of midnight on the New Year is the person you will be spending your life with forever. What a way to usher in the new year, with a kiss from someone you love, someone that loves you in return.

A new year also signifies a new beginning. The holiday season is a time for sharing. People must forget their petty differences and start over. Love is shared all around. Forgiveness is given to everyone who did something wrong. Understanding takes its place in every heart. Friends, foes, lovers, family all become one.

The NYPD held a New Year's party at their crime lab -- everyone dressed and made-up. The crowd was at the streets and loud music on every floor of the building. They were watched the celebration on the TV and decided to party along with them. Apparently, the city was too busy partying than to do anything bad. All for the sake of the holidays, the crime rate of New York went down a notch.

Some of the staff was on break, with their family out of state or taking a vacation outside the country. Those who stayed in New York welcomed 2007 with their co-workers. There are some who brought dates along. Drinks and finger food were plentiful. They had all the different Madison Square Garden coverage on all the TVs around the lab. A handful of CSIs are on duty but dressed up, ready to have fun nonetheless.

Stella Bonasera was dressed in a classy red dress with a long slit up to her right thigh. The neckline was dangerously low, displaying her cleavage without looking sleazy. A lone pearl necklace completed her hear-turning outfit. Sheldon was all too happy to escort her. Stella's always been beautiful – but that day, she outdid everybody.

Peyton looked beautiful too in a green halter dress, her hair up and adorned with a gold chain necklace and drop earrings. A silk shawl completed her guise. And of course, she had on her arm, the respected Detective Mac Taylor.

Mac Taylor went to the shindig with Dr. Peyton Driscoll. It was common knowledge around the lab that the two were an item. They have been going out for a year but as of the moment, they weren't in a romantic relationship anymore. Most of the lab half-expected that he would take Stella as his date for the party. But they were not at all shocked when she arrived with co-worker Sheldon Hawkes.

Both the medical examiners greeted each other cordially; the crime scene investigators didn't even look at each other. Mac and Stella have not been talking for the past week. She went straight to Lindsey Monroe at the punch bowl and got herself a glass. Mac went on to get Peyton and himself a glass of wine at the adjacent table. Danny Messer went over to the women and like a gentleman, kissed their hands.

"It's something my mom told me to do since I was a little boy," he smiled, blushing. "I'm more than happy to do so for two beautiful ladies this fine New Year's Eve."

Don Flack, Jr. went over to them next and gave them each a long-stemmed rose. He was equally blushing as the CSI. "Let me, guess," Lindsey said when Don fell quiet, "something your mother taught you?" He chuckled and nodded.

Sheldon joined them not long after. The five talked about the usual: resolutions, this year's regrets and achievements and their occasional jokes. Stella kept one eye with her group and one eye out looking around the lab… looking around for Mac.

He's on the lookout for her too. As the elevator doors opened, his breath hitched when he saw how beautiful she looked like. Their eyes met a split second then she looked away, to Sheldon who had an arm around her waist. Not to be outdone, he pulled Peyton closer to him as he saw the couple walking over to them. He did try to catch Stella's eye but he was beaten by the punchbowl. He followed her with his eyes, mesmerized by her presence.

In a normal setting, he would be talking to her as soon as she arrived. She would be having a drink with him first then going out to mingle with their other co-workers. Peyton or no Peyton, he would've been having fun with Stella. But now, he's stuck with his date, talking about some mundane thing after another. While Stella, Lindsey, Sheldon, Don and Danny were having fun with Adam and a digital camera.

Last week, she closed a previously cold case involving a young boy, an orphan killed in a foster home. His foster parents and two of the older kids in the home were all labeled as suspects. She found it lying on my desk one day and volunteered to close it for me. She worked on it for three months before she got a solid lead and enough evidence to pin the murder on the foster mother and the biological daughter of the couple. The case was very hard on Stella that in interrogation, in an attempt to squeeze out a confession from the mother, she got a little bit violent verbally that apart from a confession from the suspect, she got a complaint.

Mac was afraid that the complaint would wound the case so he told her about it, talked it over with her – and unfortunately, he took a wrong turn in questioning Stella's work ethics. The routine boss-employee talk escalated on to become a personal screaming match in his office. She came out from his office crying leaving him sitting on his desk fuming and mad.

Although they were able to get a conviction – the jury didn't care about the complaint – Stella was still mad at him over what happened. He accused her of being, "Too emotional. You should know better than to attach yourself to a case. It could affect the outcome of the jury. I know you were upset that they killed that young boy but you didn't have to verbally harass the mother for a admission; you should've let the evidence do that for you," he said raising the tone of his voice towards the end.

"Oh yeah, you should know how not to be emotional," she cried back. "Look, if you thought that I couldn't do it _right_ in _your_ book, then you shouldn't have given me the case, or maybe pulled me out of it."

"Don't put the blame on me, Stella," he said standing up and looming over her. "This is your fourth complaint and this time, I will not help you on this. Besides, I put you on this case because I knew you would understand it more. I thought you were professional enough to separate your personal experiences from the facts on this case." He looked at her directly in the eye and spat out, "I guess I was proven _wrong_."

Stella shot up indignantly and pointed a finger at his chest. "Don't you ever judge me, Mac Taylor!" she screamed at him. "You did not know and never will know what I went through in my life. You won't understand what I'm still going through." Tears started to form in her eyes as she continued, "I may not have the perfect little childhood you had, Mac – I grew up fast and one thing I've learned was to stand up for myself when no one else is there for me. That little boy, no one was there for him and they all thought he was a nobody; just another face in the crappy system. You don't know how it feels to be thrust into a place with six other kids of different backgrounds with parents trying to be nice and look nice but in reality, they're just greedy scumbags who don't give a damn about who you are. For them, you're a rectangular piece of paper with a signature on it and a name of a bank."

She opened up the case file on his desk and pointed to the autopsy picture of the kid. "So many times I was close to ending up like him. Bruised, bleeding, scraped up. It was not because I had an accident at the neighborhood playground. No… my fourth foster father pushed me down a flight of stairs when I forgot to fetch the morning paper. His wife never bought me a single thing for the year that followed to compensate for the hospital bills. My third foster mother, she fed me nothing but a pack of crackers and a carton of milk for three days when I came home one day and found her with the gardener on the living room rug. And my last foster home, their biological son and three of his friends tried to rape me. When I fought back, they beat me up and they said to his parents that I was fighting in school."

Tears spilled from her green eyes but she didn't stop talking. "I was fifteen when that happened. After that, I was thrown back to a group home. I stayed there until the minute I turned eighteen; enduring verbal abuse from the other kids and neglect because the system didn't have enough funds to care for us 'older' children. You can _never_ understand how it's like until you've been through something like that. So the next time you tell a victim 'I understand', make sure your feet fits perfectly with his shoe."

Mac stared at her unblinking as she told her the dark moments of her life. Guilt started to eat at him. "Now tell me… after going through all that, is it possible for me to _not_ be emotional?" He didn't answer; he couldn't think of what to say. "I saw myself in him. Back then, I was just like him – small and voiceless. I fought for him, that's what I did. I wanted you to _see_ that, to _know_ that I'm doing my job making things fair and right. I thought you knew me…" then she finished, "I guess I was wrong there, too." Stella exited his office in tears.

The whole lab saw the exchange and heard some of it. They haven't been talking for the past week since that. Danny became their unofficial messenger. As much as Mac wanted to apologize, pride got the better of him. After all, in his book, Stella did something wrong and she needed to learn how to control herself as well as obey orders from her superiors. Superiors meaning _himself_.

As for Stella, for her, she didn't do anything wrong since the two were convicted and the charges were dropped. For her, it was a way to get things off her chest. She felt better after telling Mac about a piece of her past. Maybe this time, he would understand her better. _Or not._

Adam alerted the party people that it's 20 minutes before the New Year. They cheered and some of them danced to the music that was blasting. Peyton dragged Mac to the corner when his team was at, drinking and laughing and taking pictures like teenagers.

"Hey Mac, Peyton!" Don said, handing them a glass of juice. "So glad you can join us finally."

"Yeah, we were wondering for how long we were to wait until you guys saw other people around you," Lindsey laughed. "I like your dress, Peyton."

"Thank you, Lindsey," she smiled. "You look nice as well. But Stella…" she said sliding between her and Sheldon, "you look fantastic. The red brings out your eyes."

She thanked her and the three women went on to talking. The men on the other hand struggled for something to talk about. Danny and Don immersed themselves to sports talk and such while the other two avoided each other's eyes. Stella did confide to Sheldon after what happened between her and Mac and Sheldon took her side.

Peyton, ever the conversationalist, invited them over to their conversation. "Oh sweetheart," she said to Mac and Stella inwardly cringed, "can we just forget our shortcomings and start over with a clean slate? Come on, both of you here. And you, too, Stella," she added good-naturedly. "I think we're all professionals here and we can work together pleasantly sans our difference in beliefs. We do have one thing in common at the very least… we believe the science."

Her speech was obviously well practiced to bridge the rift between Mac and Stella. After all, she did see what it did to Mac and heard what it did to Stella from Lindsey. From the start, she knew what he felt for her – he's always been protective of Stella and she's the same with him. When she came into the picture, she knew she was the odd one out. And Peyton was surprisingly okay with that. The connection between Mac and Stella was so strong, it wasn't hard for her to understand and accept it.

"Peyton," Mac finally spoke up, "may I remind you that not all of us here are _professionals_. Despite differences in ethics, we do abide by one book and by it, we make sure we get our work done _properly_." Peyton gave him a dangerous glare after she saw Stella shrink beside the tall homicide detective beside her.

Sheldon stepped up before anybody could talk. "And your point being?" he said firmly eying the CSI from head to toe. "If you have something to say to any of us, say it now. It's not polite to talk about someone as if _she_ is not here."

"I think I don't need to make myself clear because I'm pretty sure you get what I mean," he replied curtly.

"Guys, okay, we get it," Lindsey started. "Now, please stop this and let's just…" but before she could finish, Sheldon erupted.

"Did a bug crawl up your ass and died, Mac?" he said taking two steps towards him. "What, your _pride_ took more than a bottle or merlot to swallow? Why can't you just let it go? Stella did nothing wrong…"

"Don't you get into this, Sheldon," Mac cried out in anger, taking his own two steps in the direction of the former ME. "You don't know that whole story and it's _not_ any of your business!"

The others around them quieted down a bit. The music still blared but the people calmed down at the screaming match between their co-workers. "I know," Sheldon said. "Do you think yelling at Stella would help you feel better? I don't have to know every single detail, Mac. What I know is enough to tell me that you have absolutely no reason to be mad a Stella."

The woman in question started crying. Peyton pulled her in her arms and tried to comfort her. When Lindsey reached for her hands, she started sobbing. Danny and Don stood beside her as if protecting her.

When Mac saw this, all hell broke loose. "That woman," he started, "listens to _nobody _but her own damn self." They all stared at him defiantly. "You people," he said vehemently, "have got to _stop_ babying her! She doesn't deserve half of it."

Don, Danny and Lindsey were shocked to hear those words come out of their boss's mouth. "Hey Mac, that's unfair," Danny said, unafraid of the onslaught he could get.

Peyton still had her arms around Stella. But when she heard what Mac had to say, she let go of her and walked over to him. "How dare you?" she said. She was about to slap him but Lindsey beat her to it.

"After all she did to you… picking you up after you lost your wife, saving your life one too many times, staying with you when all of us have left… _this_ is how you repay her?" she said after a resounding whack. "We all look up to you, Mac, for being an outstanding citizen – a _good man_. If this is how you treat a friend and a co-worker, then that's one less good man in this city."

Before he could reply, Adam yelled out to the crowd, "Thirty seconds, people, until two-oh-oh-seven!" He had no idea of what was happening a few feet from his seat at the DJ booth.

Mac stared at Lindsey incredulously. "I can't believe this!" He went over to the table to get a glass of champagne and grabbed the first wrist he could touch without looking. "Peyton, let's go," he said going straight to his office, pulled down all the blinds and leaving everybody outside stunned. He opened the light in his office and placed the glass on his desk.

_30... 29... 28... 27... 26... 25..._

Mac looked at whom he pulled into his office: a very teary-eyed Stella. Complete with eyeliner trails down her cheeks and smudged make-up. "What the hell are you doing here?" he almost yelled out. She was looking everywhere but at him, trying to stifle her sobs. She had her arms wrapped around herself and she was shaking.

_24... 23... 22... 21... 20..._

"You pulled me in here, Detective Taylor," she said, wiping away her tears in an attempt to look poised.

His heart broke when he heard her voice break when she said his name. It was like seeing Stella – in her childhood, small and afraid, alone in the world full of iniquity; a poor innocent little girl. Mac suddenly felt guilty.

_19... 18... 17... 16... 15..._

"But you're not..." Mac began.

"Peyton, I know," Stella finished. She tried to hide a sob and a new batch of tears streamed from her eyes. "I'm sorry." She didn't really know what she was sorry for. It's either she's apologizing for what happened last week… or she's apologizing for not being Peyton at that moment.

Either way, it hurt.

_14... 13... 12... 11... 10..._

Mac, now feeling really guilty of what went out of his mouth earlier, said nothing but looked everywhere but Stella. He tried to think of something to say but all he could do was stare at her with the image of a little girl lost and alone.

In his heart, he felt something that he couldn't put his finger on. It's something he hadn't felt for a long time… since Claire. He then realized that he felt that way every time he's with Stella. Some sense of comfort and belonging.

She started to feel uneasy so she offered to look for Peyton. "I'll go get her then," she said turning to the door to go out.

_9... 8... 7... 6... 5..._

The crowd outside his office was counting along. They were having fun.

"Stell, wait," Mac said, pulling her to him and with his handkerchief, wiped away her tears.

"Mac, I..." she started to say but stopped when she saw the look he had in his eyes. She knew that look. His touch was like fire against her skin and his breath so close to her face.

As the last seconds of 2006 counted down, they forgot their petty differences and expressed their true feelings through a New Year's kiss. After they've pulled away, they understood now – they did love each other all along.

Auld Lang Syne was playing outside and cheers were heard throughout. Mac still had Stella in his arms, his lips on hers once more. They stayed that way until the singing outside stopped, a fresh batch of tears painted her cheeks.

"Still crying?" Mac chuckled, wiping them away. "That's not a good way to start the New Year." He kissed her again.

"You made me cry," Stella squeaked. They stared at each other's eyes, full of unspoken feelings.

"Sorry," he whispered against her hair. "Mac and his stupid pride. And I was… I guess, overreacting."

"Yeah," she laughed, reminiscing a similar conversation they've had before – sans the tears. "Touché!" They both laughed and slow danced a bit. "Happy New Year, Mac."

He looked at her lovingly and said, "Happy New Year, Stella." It was warm inside his office. It's nice to have the privacy and the woman in his arms. Yet, they do have dates that they left outside. "Shall we?"

"Together?" she asked getting his point.

"Yeah, _together,_" he assured her, placing his hand on the small of her back and opening the door. She half expected Sheldon and Peyton waiting for them anxiously outside Mac's office but they were nowhere to be found.

Danny, Flack, Lindsey, and now with Detective Jennifer Angell, were still at the drinks table. They spotted the pair and at first, they looked at Mac as if he's the biggest scum in the universe. But when they saw him kiss Stella on the forehead with his arm tight around her waist, they understood.

"Ah, the magic of the New Year," Danny said, tilting his wine glass to them as they approached. He had two perfect kiss marks on each of his cheeks. Flack had the same.

"Do you want me to add to those, guys?" Stella offered and kissed them both.

"Have you guys seen Peyton and Sheldon?" Mac asked the group.

Jennifer nodded. "Yeah, I saw them head to the break room after the song ended."

And she was right. From where they were standing, they could clearly see the two medical examiners sharing a couch with a bottle of champagne between them, engaged in what looked like a very interesting conversation. Sheldon placed his hand on top of hers and she leaned in for a kiss on the cheek.

"Well," Flack said, "birds of the same feather flock together, I guess." He winked at Jennifer.

She laughed and said, "Don't even think about it, Flack."

Mac stared at Stella. Both of them liked how the night turned out. All of them are happy. Mac is happy for Peyton as Stella is happy for Hawkes. But most of all, they are happy that they finally found _each other_.

And that is what the new year is all about.

**01/09/2007**


End file.
